I Was Reincarnated as the Prince in a Villainess Story, so I’ll Use My Cheat Knowledge to Create a Noble Lady Harem and Make Them All Happy - 56

Chapter 56: The Black Seal and the Echo of Blood

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The traces of the hole that should have vanished left behind only a black-stained seal. At the center of the castle, where the central pillar had been lost, a deep, swallowing darkness yawned open. It was far too unnatural, ominous and far too quiet. A sharp voice pierced the ears of Valis, who stood frozen in shock.

“Reinaaaa!”

It was Milia’s scream. Before he could even turn around, her figure raced across his vision, hurling itself toward the black seal.

“Give her back…! Give Reina back…!”

Light gathered in her fist. Wrapped in the spellwork of the holy magic, Divine Arts, it turned into a burning radiance and slammed into the black seal without hesitation. A dull sound rang out. Yet the seal did not move an inch.

“Why… Why isn’t it working…!? This can’t… This can’t be happening…!”

She struck it again and again. Her knuckles split, blood welled up, and droplets scattered. One of those droplets struck Valis’s cheek, warm and wet. At last, sound returned to the world.

“Stop, Milia!”

He rushed in and held her by the shoulders. But Milia did not stop. Even in Valis’s arms, she thrashed as if trying to break free, screaming toward the seal.

“Reina…!! Reina, please…!! Come back…!”

Perhaps unable to bear watching her any longer, Milia’s father, Duke Elfein, stepped forward.

“Take Milia away.”

A short, calm command. With just that, several knights moved. Gently, yet firmly, they restrained Milia and pulled her away from the seal.

“Let go…! Let go of me…!”

Milia’s voice grew distant. In her place, only unmoving silence remained. Valis’s eyes drifted unconsciously toward his father, Ars, who sat collapsed on the floor. A man who would normally act faster than anyone, giving orders without hesitation. His mother, Mina, was beside him. Both of them knelt, heads bowed, as if they had forgotten how to breathe. The cheers and blessings that had filled the hall now felt like distant illusions.

“…Your Highness.”

A hoarse voice came from near the seal.

Marquis Agreia—Reina’s father, Livele—slowly reached his hand toward the blackness. His fingertips hovered just before touching it. Even from afar, Valis could see his hand trembling.

“What… What happened to Reina, Your Highness?”

It was the voice of a father.

“…I don’t know.”

Valis’s reply was nothing but honest.

“But… Just before she changed into that form, Reina said… ‘Mother’…”

Livele’s expression changed rapidly before Valis’s eyes.

“Her mother… Laura?”

The moment he murmured that, his eyes widened—then twisted in pain.

“Marquis Agreia!”

When Valis touched his shoulder, Livele lowered his gaze slightly and shook his head.

“My apologies, Your Highness… I need a moment to collect myself. I will speak with you later…”

Saying only that, the marquis quietly left. Valis could not bring himself to call after him.

“…Your Highness.”

Duke Elfein’s voice echoed low across the hall.

“What transpired here must remain confidential for the time being. …Understood?”

Valis nodded faintly. Right now, he could not think at all.

＊ ＊ ＊

Back in the waiting room, Valis sat heavily in a chair.

Calm down. Don’t panic…

He told himself that. But his thoughts were in complete turmoil.

…The Library Tower. That day in my childhood…

“There’s a rumor that beneath Alveria lies a ruin from the age of the gods.”

Reina had said that. And when he heard those words back then, he remembered thinking, for some reason, “I saw that in the original story.”

“Unanalyzed magical structure”… “The final enemy’s base that appears near the end of the story”—  But such settings did not exist in The Crown and the Cage of Purity, the novel written by Feril (Yuko Sonomura). She herself had said so. Then… What was that memory?

He couldn’t make sense of it. Reina’s transformed appearance flashed across his mind. Black wings. Horns on her forehead. A demonic form surpassing even the demon god Biblos. A figure both terrifying and impossibly beautiful.

Reina… What are you…?

He held his head in his hands. His heart refused to calm.

“I’m coming in.”

After a knock, Feril entered the room.

“Prince, tell me what happened to Reina-neesama.”

Her expression was calm. Seeing her face—seeing that she wasn’t breaking down like Milia—filled him with relief and, irrationally, anger.

Why are you so calm?

Feril walked toward him quietly and knelt at his feet.

“Please tell me what happened.”

Her voice was strong, yet gentle. Valis opened his trembling lips and told her everything. His final conversation with Reina. The memory of the Library Tower. And the “original story memory” that had come to him in that moment.

“Feril… no—Yuko Sonomura. In the story you wrote, The Crown and the Cage of Purity, was there ever a scenario where enemies appeared in ruins beneath the capital?”

“…No.”

The answer was immediate.

“As I said before, my story had no magic. No final enemy. Only some overlapping names…”

Valis’s confusion deepened.

Then why…?

“But,” Feril continued. “Laura-sama died before Reina-neesama was even one year old. And yet… Reina-neesama spoke of Lady Laura?”

That observation froze Valis’s thoughts.

Right. Reina is the one who didn’t make sense.

“Feril, even speculation is fine. If you view the current situation as a story, what possibilities do you see?”

He didn’t know what connection—if any—existed between her novel and the logic of this world. But if anyone could analyze the situation calmly, it was her. He also told Feril about the past involving Reina’s mother, Laura, which Ars had revealed recently. After a brief silence, she answered.

“…A broken engagement. And afterward, the prince marrying another woman… If anything, Laura-sama fits the template of a ‘villainess’ more than Reina-neesama does.”

“…?”

“And stories about villainesses often involve revenge on the prince… If that revenge hadn’t been completed…”

Reina’s transformation into a demon god—if that was Laura’s will. In the scene of coronation, Reina would kill Valis. That would be the greatest vengeance against Ars and Mina.

“But…”

Feril then stated firmly.

“Reina-neesama rejected that.”

Indeed, even Reina in her ordinary state could easily harm Valis if she wished. And in her demon form, killing the stunned Valis would have been a piece of cake for her. And yet—those words…

“I won’t let things go the way Mother wants.”

That must have been her refusal of Laura’s will. And yet, Reina was gone.

“…Pull yourself together.”

Feril cupped Valis’s face in both hands.

“If Reina-neesama truly believed there was no other choice, she would’ve taken her own life right there.”

The words stabbed painfully into his chest. But she hadn’t done that.

“That’s why I’m sure… Reina-neesama is waiting for you.”

“…?”

“The reincarnated wise king Valis isn’t a title for show, is it?”

Her smile reached him straight through his trembling heart. A powerful gaze—unthinkable from the usually fragile-seeming Feril. A trust shared only between fellow reincarnators.

“We’re absolutely going to save her!”

At those words, Valis nodded firmly.

“…Yes. Absolutely. I’ll absolutely bring Reina back.”

He swore it in his heart.

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